Peace on Earth: Mahatma's Talisman Can Exorcise Anger

By M P K Kutty

It is a paradox that Gujarat, the state which gave India her greatest son, Mahatma Gandhi, should defile his memory and what he stood for with a terrible violence fuelled by communal frenzy, resulting in large scale death and destruction.

On October 21, 1946 Gandhi declared his resolve to go to Noakhali and Bihar to try and rein in the fast-spreading communal tensions.

In Noakhali, he went as a lonely pilgrim, walking from village to village, deep into the uncharted interior till he had brought a measure of sanity to the area. He did so while still in poor health, nursing a broken heart and exposing himself to dangers.

He felt a deep sorrow and if he were here today, he would have felt much the same about the riots, reprisals and killings in which it is largely the innocents and the poor who become victims.

The sorrow we feel today, like Gandhi felt under similar circumstances so many years ago, should lead us not to submit to a desire for vengeance, but to submit to repentance. We should not cave in to feelings of helplessness; rather, we have to go ahead with a determination not to yield to the temptation to hate.

The sufferings of the people, especially the poor, as a result of communal violence moved the sensitive Gandhi to formulate a talisman for all; a talisman that could guide their course of action: "Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, recall the face of the poorest and the weakest of men, whom you may have seen, and ask yourself if the step you are contemplating is going to be of use to him. Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away".

Those who react in anger to the recent violent incidents in Godhra, other parts of Gujarat and neighbouring states need to consider Gandhi's'talisman". Will anger and revenge help erase the distress? Anger is a negative emotion; it can neither bring peace nor put an end to the cycle of violence.

On the other hand, we have the warning from ancient times that "those who take the sword shall perish by the sword". And also, that we are bound to "reap what we sow". This is the time for all good people to come together and strive for peace and reconciliation through dialogue and understanding.

We could draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi'sexample and strive towards regaining our sensitivity which tends to get clouded over by anger. So disturbed and devastated was Gandhi with the communal disturbances, that he refused to celebrate his birthday when friends and diplomats came over to greet him.

He requested them to pray that "either the present conflagration (the communal riots) should end or He (God) should take me away. I do not wish another birthday to overtake me in an India still in flames".

"What sin have I committed?" Gandhi asked, while talking to Sardar Patel. "What sin have I committed that He should have kept me alive to witness these horrors?" Gandhi seemed to be consumed by a sense of helplessness in the face of the surrounding conflagration.

The visible hatred between communities had shattered his dreams. He had dreamt of an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country in which there shall be no high class or low class of people and in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony.

Only recently the United States faced and overcame a communally sensitive incident when Islamic fundamentalists attacked and destroyed the World Trade Center on September 11 last year.

To the credit of all Americans, they did not allow it to turn into a communal conflagration within the country. Billy Graham gave a call to the people to pray: "I ask all Americans to pray. In times like this we realise how weak and inadequate we are, and our greatest need is to turn in repentance and faith to the God of all mercy and the Father of all comfort. If ever there was a time for us to turn to God and pray as a nation, it is now, that the evil will spread no further".

At this juncture we in India, too, must be moved to pray that the evil will spread no further. Let us pray that we will recognise that we are all children of the same Father, whatever the differences in colour, creed, language or background. Let us pray for all bitterness to be rooted out and for peace to prevail.

(The exhibition, 'The Last Phase of Mahatma Gandhi'sLife", on his efforts to douse communal flames is on at the National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi till March 31.)

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See also: Peace of Mind, Peace on Earth, Life and Beyond, Love and Happiness, Body Mind and Soul)